Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
No surprises in this `khel'
Film: Khel
Cast: Suniel Shetty, Ajay Jadeja, Celina Jaitley, Sunny Deol
Director: Yusuf Khan
GENERALLY FILMS evoke some sort of emotion in us, be it positive or negative. But rarely a movie leaves us passive. `Khel', the debut film of editor-turned-director Yusuf Khan, is one such rarity that makes us mentally inert, without giving one the scope to enjoy or feel bored by the proceedings going on the screen in front of you, at least till the interval.
'Khel' is turned into a thriller with a love triangle rolled into it. A story of deceit and betrayal among friends form the skeleton of this film with hardly any meat or skin to cover the bare bones. Dev Mallya (Suniel Shetty), an eccentric business magnate and Rohan Poddar (Ajay Jadeja), a happy-go-lucky guy with no bearings in this world, are friends who unfortunately fall for the same girl Saanjh (Celina Jaitley), an interior decorator. Unable to bear losing his girl Dev frames his gullible friend in a murder case and using his money power puts him behind the bars for rest of his life. At this point one wonders whether this movie is a diluted adaptation of couple of Sidney Sheldon novels like `Windmills of the Gods' and `Master of the Game,' famous for the twisted plots and deceptive characters. But no, here enters a cool cop played by Sunny Deol who solves the mystery and saves Rohan in a jiffy.
There are no twists or unpredictable turns in the plot. What saves the day is Sunny Deol. His entry (post-interval) enlivens the pace and gives the audience a reason to cheer about, he does all the heroic things he is popular for; from bashing a dozen baddies in a go, to ranting dialogues in Punjabi. But after a point, we start feeling that he has been overused in a miniscule role.
Of the other two performers, Ajay Jadeja gives a competent performance. His role is tailor made to suit his image from the cricketing world, that of an unpretentious, happy-go-lucky guy. We only hope that he gets roles with more substance where he can explore his histrionic capabilities. Suniel Shetty tries hard to do justice to his role, but the weak characterisation fails him. His character feels more like a rough underworld don than a suave millionaire. His body language, with spasmodic twitches of neck and hands, make him a stereotypical psychopath.
On the whole, one feels that the story of `Khel' should have had more suspense or an element of surprise for us in it to work. And to be fair to the first time director, there were many unwarranted cuts in the story. The introduction scene of Ajay Jadeja, which he mentioned in an interview, was missing, which makes the shots seem unlinked and sporadic. But you can still watch this film provided you are a diehard fan of Sunny Deol.
PARESH C. PALICHA
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
